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Arts and Culture

MPR News has you covered with news and stories about local art and culture happenings across Minnesota.

Art Hounds: Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what's exciting in local art. You can explore arts events here, or become an Art Hound today.

Art Reviews: Our arts team offers insight on the latest in theater, music, visual arts and more. We explore the breadth of creativity and innovation found throughout Minnesota, offering audiences a deeper understanding of the works and artists shaping our cultural landscape. Read more here.

Art Friend: Everyone needs an art friend. Art Friend is a new segment with our arts team. Art spaces can feel exclusive and art can be confusing, obtuse, and even boring. But, especially with the right context, everyone can be a critic. So let us be your guide- your Art Friend. Listen or read Art Friend stories here.

Our arts coverage is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment's Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

ChangeMakers: Adrienne Benjamin, a master jingle dress maker, artist and activist

ChangeMakers: Adrienne Benjamin, a master jingle dress maker, artist and activist

Adrienne Benjamin is a master jingle dress maker living on the Mille Lacs Reservation. She is also a jingle dress dancer, inspired by her great-grandmother Hannah. Guided by her mentors, teachers, counselors and grandad, Benjamin is working to help transform the lives of the next generation of Minnesotans.
by Kathryn Styer Martinez

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Kwame Alexander offers new poems on race and hope as 'psalms and balms' for the soul

Kwame Alexander offers new poems on race and hope as 'psalms and balms' for the soul

In “Light For The World To See: A Thousand Words On Race And Hope,” Kwame Alexander writes of the killing of George Floyd, Colin Kaepernick's kneeling protests, and the election of Barack Obama.
by Rachel Martin

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3 recipes for cooking up a scaled-down, low-key Thanksgiving meal

3 recipes for cooking up a scaled-down, low-key Thanksgiving meal

The usual Thanksgiving spreads may be too big for this year's holiday. Instead, Chefs Anita Lo, Aarón Sánchez and Sohla El-Waylly share recipes for a relatively unfussy but still delicious meal.
by Mallory Yu

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ChangeMakers: Tufawon, music as an art of resistance

ChangeMakers: Tufawon, music as an art of resistance

Dakota and Boricua hip-hop artist Rafael Gonzalez, known as Tufawon, wants to hear Indigenous music on heavy rotation on every station. His music blends his experiences growing up and his visions for the future of Indigenous people.
by Evan Frost

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Pope Francis' book explores George Floyd, virus skeptics

Pope Francis' book explores George Floyd, virus skeptics

In a new book “Let Us Dream,” Pope Francis is supporting demands for racial justice in the wake of the U.S. police killing of George Floyd and is blasting COVID-19 skeptics and the media that spread their conspiracies.
by The Associated Press

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'Even As We Breathe': A first novel from a teacher who writes for her students

'Even As We Breathe': A first novel from a teacher who writes for her students

The book is a mystery of sorts, set at an upscale North Carolina resort during World War II. Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle teaches at a high school with a student population that's 30 percent Native American.
by Neda Ulaby

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'Nights When Nothing Happened' is quietly lovely — maybe a little too quiet

'Nights When Nothing Happened' is quietly lovely — maybe a little too quiet

Simon Han's debut novel follows a Chinese immigrant family in Texas, whose fragile peace is shattered after the father is wrongly accused of a crime, and it's up to the kids to restore balance.
by Leland Cheuk

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'These Violent Delights' transports Romeo and Juliet to 1920s Shanghai

'These Violent Delights' transports Romeo and Juliet to 1920s Shanghai

Chloe Gong's new novel has some of the important aspects of Shakespeare's famous tragedy — but more than anything else, it's a rich portrait of a time and place not often seen in literature.
by Caitlyn Paxson

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Ask a Bookseller: 'The Most Spectacular Mistake'

Ask a Bookseller: 'The Most Spectacular Mistake'

Bookseller Sarah Rafael Garcia of LibroMobile in Santa Ana California recommended a poetry collection this week: “The Most Spectacular Mistake” by Anatalia Vallez.
by Emily Bright

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